In a city like Chicago, a crime must reach a certain level of horror to gain its own Wikipedia page and capture the attention of figures such as Barack Obama.
However, Tesfaye Cooper and three others accomplished both when they abducted an 18-year-old White man with special needs in 2017, subjecting him to a hate crime that they streamed live on Facebook.
After Cooper pleaded guilty, Judge William Hooks disclosed during sentencing that he had discussions with the victim’s family. They had taken steps to ensure Cooper would have access to support services upon his release from prison.
“They’re interested in making sure … that there are some resources that are available that will help you,” Hooks stated, as reported by the Sun-Times in 2018. “To make you understand that hatred is not something that is going to be a possibility for you when you get out.”
Yet, it seems that possibility persists.
Cooper, now 30, was apprehended last Wednesday afternoon shortly after he and an accomplice pursued, assaulted, and robbed a cyclist at the Clark-Lake CTA station mezzanine, as indicated in court documents. Coincidentally, the victim was a White man.
Also implicated in the assault is Mazi Pearson, aged 33, who had outstanding warrants for not appearing in four ongoing felony cases.
According to a detention filing, a 48-year-old man from Cicero waved at Pearson and Cooper as he cycled past them near Clark and Lake streets around 1:30 p.m. Pearson and Cooper reacted to the wave by identifying themselves as “GDs,” a term for Gangster Disciples, and pursuing the victim into the Clark-Lake station, as stated in the filing.
Inside the station, the victim paid his fare, but Cooper and Pearson chased him through the turnstile, cornering him against the mezzanine elevator, prosecutors reported. With the victim trapped, Pearson allegedly punched him in the shoulder. A CPD report indicated that Cooper attempted to hit the victim with a closed fist while Pearson spat in his face.
Pearson allegedly threw the victim’s bike over the turnstile and exited with Cooper, taking the bike. A CTA security guard witnessed the robbery, prosecutors mentioned.
The victim called 911, providing a description of the assailants. Responding officers saw Cooper and Pearson fleeing a nearby building as they arrived, according to the detention document. Pearson surrendered immediately, and officers recovered the victim’s bike about 25 feet away in a flower bed. Another set of officers detained Cooper about a block away.
Prosecutors revealed that Pearson was in possession of ten bags of suspected heroin and four bags of suspected cocaine when arrested. All four of his pending felony cases involve allegations of shoplifting from Macy’s in the Loop, as per court records. He had stopped attending court for those cases since November, with warrants active since then.
Cooper faces robbery charges. Pearson faces charges of robbery and two counts of possessing a controlled substance. Judge Luciano Panici, Jr. ordered both men to be held pending trial.
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